Stock market falls below 4,100 mark over US stimulus doubts

By: Doris C. Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer 1:49 pm | Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange index fell below the crucial 4,100 mark, sinking into negative territory for 2011, as a $400-billion stimulus plan by the US Federal Reserve only affirmed bleak economic prospects on the US economy.

The main-share PSEi lost 108.19 points or 2.6 percent to close at 4,096.10, wiping out all gains for the year as the index slid past two key barriers at 4,200 and 4,100.

“Increasingly worrisome external risks came to fore and we remain vigilant.  We expect continued volatility in the interim given the emotionally-driven investment backdrop,” said First Metro Securities head of research Mark Angeles.

With this sell-off, the local index is now behind by 103.9 points or 2.5 percent of its end-2010 level.

The day’s downturn reflected the overnight bloodbath in Wall Street that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Index sink by 283.82 points or 2.49 percent to 11,124.84 as the US Fed announced a portfolio shuffling program to drive down long-term interest rates and perk up the economy.  But this was only taken as cue that the much-awaited full US economic recovery might be far off.

Investors sold down local equities as global risk aversion intensified.  All counters were in the red but the financial and mining/oil counters were the hardest hit, both falling by 3 percent.

There were five decliners for every single gainer at the local market.  Value turnover amounted to P4.95 billion.

PLDT, AGI, Metrobank, ALI, EDC, Meralco, BDO, SM Prime, Megaworld, Aboitiz Power, Semirara, BPI, SM Investments, AEV and URC led the index lower.  Lepanto A (open only to local investors), NiHao, Petron and Lepanto B (open to both local and foreign investors) also fell in heavy trade.

Among the few stocks that bucked that downturn was Abra Mining, which also made it to the day’s list of heavily traded stocks.

http://business.inquirer.net/20715/stock-market-falls-below-4100-mark-over-us-stimulus-doubts

ICTSI keen on ‘several’ overseas projects

Tuesday, 20 September 2011 19:39 VG Cabuag / Reporter 

PORT operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said it has submitted “a lot of bids” to operate or manage several other port projects all over the world, including facilities in Africa, South Asia and Latin America.

ICTSI executive vice president Edgardo Abesamis said the company, which is fast becoming one of the world’s top port operators, submitted its intent in port projects overseas and these are in the various stages of development.  

To expand its international operations, Abesamis said ICTSI is looking at either responding to bid invitations from various authorities or making a pitch to governments to develop a new port. 

“We are just replying to several bid invitations from various port operators around the world and we don’t know when it will be awarded to us or to another company that we are competing with,” Abesamis told reporters. 

“We are just waiting for the decision of the port authorities on whether ICTSI will emerge as the winning bidder,” Abesamis said.

Abesamis said it had placed a bid to operate a Bangladesh port five years ago but the port authorities there have yet to decide on the tenders. ICTSI also joined a bid to operate port in Costa Rica, but the contract was given to Maersk. 

“It’s hard to say if we will bag a new port contract this year because we just respond to bid invitation by various governments,” he said. 

Earlier this year, ICTSI dispatched a team to Africa to study the possibility of expanding its operations in that continent. 

ICTSI has established ICTSI Africa (Pty) Ltd. for this purpose. Its subsidiary will be registered in Cape Town, South Africa with developing and managing port terminal assets in the African region being its main purpose.

“But right now the team that we have dispatched has nothing in particular to report to us yet,” he said. 

The company is currently expanding its flagship port, the Manila International Container Terminal, and is allotting around $110 million to construct Berth 6 and to purchase new cargo handling equipment.

ICTSI is looking at operating the new berth within the first quarter of next year as the company is awaiting delivery of two quay cranes worth about $2.5 million each as well as six rubber-tired gantries worth $1.2 million and other principal cargo-handling equipment worth about $1 million.

ICTSI is involved in the operations and development of 22 marine terminals and port projects in 17 countries worldwide. 

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/companies/16788-ictsi-keen-on-several-overseas-projects

Investors cautioned on PH stocks

By Miguel R. Camus, BusinessMirror

Posted at 09/21/2011 9:36 AM | Updated as of 09/21/2011 9:36 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine stocks are among the most “crowded” in the region on a net foreign-buying basis, a status it shares with close neighbor Indonesia, according to Credit Suisse Group AG.

The Swiss bank cautioned investors in the Philippines in a research note on Tuesday, saying valuations in the local stock market are “stretched” and the country is associated with downgrades to consensus earnings-per-share.

Credit Suisse added the Philippines is the “most exposed” to recent gains in rice prices and that its reliance on overseas workers’ remittances means the economy is not as domestically driven as some investors perceive.

Overseas investors have been net buyers of $1.27 billion of Indonesian equities, and purchasers of a net $475 million of Philippine shares, the report said. The Philippine Stock Exchange benchmark index fell 2.05 percent to 4,219.82 on Tuesday. The measure tracked losses in the rest of the region on Tuesday and on Wall Street the night before.

Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist for Banco de Oro Unibank Inc., said the report highlights the risk-averse sentiments around the globe.

“This is more of an emotional market. There is still an over-effect from all that is happening on Wall Street and the Europe debt [crisis]. It highlights that we are not immune to global headwinds,” he said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

The report comes as Standard & Poor’s cut the sovereign credit rating of Italy by a notch, fueling fears that Europe’s debt problems are far from over.

Ravelas reiterated that further dips in the market should be taken as a sign to accumulate Philippine stocks
given stable economic fundamentals in the medium-term. He said reports suggesting the valuations in the Philippines are expensive could be “tactical” or short-term recommendations.

“I would say what we are seeing is more of an adjustment than a warning bell,” he said.

In July emerging-markets investment guru Dr. Mark Mobius called Philippine stocks expensive relative to stocks offered in other developing economies.

Mobius, who heads Templeton Emerging Markets Group, pointed to the Philippine market’s lack of scale and liquidity to attract larger funds.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/09/21/11/investors-cautioned-ph-stocks

Biz Buzz: Chinoys scammed again

the staff
Philippine Daily Inquirer  
1:00 am | Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 

It’s sounding almost like some kind of financial scam has to hit the affluent Binondo Chinese community every now and then.

The latest edition of this recurring story unraveled only last week, according to our sources, when a Filipino-Chinese “forex trader” absconded with the investments of several family members and friends.

“Forex trading?” Well, strictly speaking, the actual trading of dollars in Binondo has slowed down in recent years after the relative stability of the peso against the US dollar virtually eliminated the exchange rate differential between the formal market and the so-called “gray market.”

Apparently, what is called “forex trading” nowadays is somewhat of a misnomer as it involves trading of highly leveraged (and highly volatile) foreign exchange futures contracts.

These contracts—which are basically sophisticated derivatives contracts—can deliver large gains to the clients, but can also result in devastating losses once the markets move against the investor (something that can happen in seconds).

There is no formal futures exchange in the Philippines so investments of this nature are traded by locals online in virtual exchanges offshore.

It is this kind of activity that this Chinoy “trader”—whose initials are NT—was allegedly engaged in. After suffering massive losses, NT (who is said to be related to the owner of a popular Chinese restaurant in Greenhills) supposedly “disappeared” and is now in hiding.

The damage to his irate and despondent “investors” has been estimated to be close to P1 billion.

Ouch.—Daxim L. Lucas

PLDT trumped by Smart (Gilas, that is)

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. was supposed to hold a special stockholders’ meeting Tuesday to approve a scheme aimed at addressing the recent Supreme Court ruling against its foreign ownership structure.

At the last minute, however, the company declared that it had failed to muster the required quorum to hold the meeting (where the plan to issue new preferred shares would have been put before its shareholders).

No quorum? No rush, as an appeal with the Supreme Court is still pending. Of course, it didn’t help that PLDT chair Manny Pangilinan was spotted in Wuhan, China, cheering on the Smart Gilas basketball team (of which he is the prime patron).

And before anyone accuses the telco tycoon of prioritizing basketball over business, note that his timely intervention in the citizenship issue of two key Gilas Fil-Ams helped the team secure a sweet “come-from-behind” win over Jordan.

Of course, the citizenship certification was helped along by the Department of Foreign Affairs headed by Secretary Albert del Rosario, himself a former PLDT director.—Daxim L. Lucas

The golden quest

Stock pundits in search of gold mining plays have recently turned to United Paragon Mining Corp. on prospective windfall from the change in mining fortunes of businessman Alfredo Ramos. Since August, trading on UPM has been brisk on expectations that, after getting tycoon Henry Sy’s group to invest in Atlas Consolidated Mining & Development Corp., Ramos will next work on rekindling UPM’s principal mining project at Paracale, Camarines Norte. Based on latest geological report, this gold mine contains 1.4 million ounces of high grade gold (7 grams per ton).

UPM on Tuesday signed a convertible loan agreement with Alakor Corp. for the P250 million needed by the company to revive the mining project. The company suspended drilling in this project in 2003 due to serious depletion of economic reserves, high operating costs and low metal prices.

Since the situation has obviously changed, Ramos (who also heads the National Bookstore chain) is now more confident of putting more chips into mining.

Meanwhile, there are also expectations that Ramos may share management of Atlas with the SM group. Although his group still owns 45 percent of Atlas, the SM group will be able to raise its stake (from 17.9 percent) once Banco de Oro converts some IOUs into Atlas equity. Asked about this, SM Investments chief finance office Jose Sio said that the Ramos family would continue to have management control of Atlas. Mining is a “portfolio” rather than a “core” interest for SM, Sio often says. As such, he said SM and BDO will only play a supporting role in Atlas’ management.—Doris C. Dumlao

Backing PAL

Here’s something you don’t see every day: The head of San Miguel Corp. speaking authoritatively about Philippine Airlines.

So, is the conglomerate on the verge of slugging it out with its rival, the PLDT group, for control of Philippine Airlines?

The answer is an emphatic “no” from SMC president Ramon Ang. Yes, he is talking to PAL’s “Kapitan,” tycoon Lucio Tan, he said, but stressed that talks were merely brainstorming sessions.

Ang said he was a “very close” friend of the Tan family and, as such, was willing to help secure a partnership with a “famous” foreign airline.

Tan is “awash in cash” and “doesn’t really need anyone’s money” to help prop up the flag carrier, its labor woes notwithstanding, the SMC chief added.

“I am interested in aviation and the Tan family is a very good friend of mine,” Ang said. “We often talk about PAL, so whatever way I can do to help him, I’m going to do it.”

Unequivocal support? You bet.—Amy Remo

ALI comes to Tagaytay

After letting other property developers gain solid footholds in and around Tagaytay City, Ayala Land has apparently decided that enough is enough, and is now jumping into the increasingly crowded fray.

According to our source, the country’s largest real developer by market value is set to launch its first condominium project in the picturesque resort town south of Metro Manila next month.

The mixed-use development—to be located across Discovery Country Suites—the yet-unnamed project will be marketed under the Alveo brand, indicating that it is targeted toward the middle-income buyers.

The multi-phase project will eventually have leisure and mid-rise condos, a retail section and a condotel, and about 150 units will be offered in the initial marketing salvo.

Never mind, of course, that the Ayala Land project will be situated on the other side of the road from the ridge (normally lower priced properties than those situated on the other side, right on the ridge). The structures will be high enough to give residents commanding views of Taal Lake and beyond, we’re told.—Daxim L. Lucas

Nickel looking good

The local nickel mining industry seems to be off to a good third quarter run this year, and companies like Marcventures Holdings Inc.—through its subsidiary Marcventures Mining and Development Corp.—are eager to send out more high-grade nickel ore shipments.

According to company sources, another shipment of nickel is ready to sail. And should Marcventures continue shipping at this pace, it should be able to send out a total of six shipments by yearend totaling 300,000 wet metric tons of high grade nickel.

Last month, company officials confirmed that it had completed its first shipment of 55,600 wet metric tons of high-grade nickel ore from its mine in Surigao del Sur to Zhanjiang Port, China, at $54 per ton.

This is, of course, good news for Marcventures, especially since nickel prices on the world market continue to be “robust” (to put it conservatively).

Will we hear the words “record profits” this year? Possibly.—Daxim L. Lucas

http://business.inquirer.net/20485/biz-buzz-chinoys-scammed-again

Having his cake and eating it too

Published : Monday, September 12, 2011 00:00

Written by : KIM BERNARDO-LOKIN SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR 

Enrico Dee

THERE is a popular saying that goes, “do the things that you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” This adage rings true for Enrico “Ricky” Dee, who was born into a family of entrepreneurs whose family was into construction, a lumber and hardware store, but who himself eventually took a path all his own. Dee is the president and chief executive officer of the Foodlink Group of Companies, whose food businesses range from numerous fast-food stalls, to chains of restaurants under his name.

Like most Filipino-Chinese families, Dee started to hone his entrepreneurial skills by helping his father in their construction business. But Dee says he felt that there was “no value-added” into the business because it is a commodity trade. According to him, “a wood will still be a wood, not until you make it into a door. So I felt that I needed to do something with value, that I can add more to the value.”

His opportunity came one day in 1985, right outside their village in Bel-Air Makati, when a food court opened. Dee got one of the stalls and put up what he described as a “very small stall selling Chinese food a la carte” and he named it “Chin-Chin” after his son Chino.

He recalls that the food court setting was a new industry at the time and the concept of the “big malls” were just starting and they were able to ride with the progress. Dee says they started opening in the food courts in malls like SM North Edsa and eventually had branches in Cubao and Makati under the names “Chin’s Express,” “Inihaw Express” and “Handaan Express.”

Today he says they have roughly about 80 stalls in all major malls all over Luzon. The Foodlink Group of Companies is structured into three divisions: the fast-food where they operate the stalls which employ about a thousand people; the second division would be the stand-alone restaurants which include “Mesa,” “La Mesa,” “Mangan,” “Crocodile” and two high-end restaurants “Kai” (Japanese) and “Cerveseria” (Spanish/Tapas Bar) in Greenbelt 3. The third division is the food concessions, where Foodlink handles the companies’ in-house canteens and feed about 25,000 people a day. In this category, Dee says they partnered with big companies like Toyota, the Ayala-owned Integrated Microelectronics Inc. and basically all tech companies in Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Honda Philippines and still many other multinational companies inside industrial parks.

Looking back he says, his entry into the food business was just all “by accident.” Whenever asked, this accomplished restaurateur would half-jokingly say that he simply “loves to eat and lives to eat.” But adds that he also must have been influenced to go into the food business because he comes from a large family that loves to gather around good & well-cooked meals and this is where his palate was probably enhanced. In return, he must have also influenced his family somehow when he went into the food business because one of his brothers eventually became a chef too out of their love for eating “good food.”

In analyzing their sector as a whole, Dee says that right now there seems to be a “correction time” in their industry. He thinks this is because there is a saturation of the market already and what he calls a “cannibalization of the market.” According to him, this is brought about by too many choices and too many malls within the same geographical area, who service only the same number of customers. On the other hand, he says this situation is good for today’s modern Filipino families, who now have so much more choices at very reasonable prices. As a result, Dee observes that more families now prefer to just “eat out” instead of going to the market to buy the food ingredients and cooking them at home, an option that is totally time-consuming and takes away precious time bonding with the family instead.

Looking forward, he says that the “take-out and delivery” will be the next area of growth. This is because the trend is changing especially for the average Filipino families whose palates and knowledge of food choices from around the world had increased tremendously, when compared to a decade or two ago. He also notes the rise in the number of culinary schools in the country and being a “chef” as a career choice.

As for Dee, he says he simply prefers to be called a businessman, especially because he says he doesn’t even cook, although he is very keen on the taste and presentation of food. He also loves to travel with his wife and family, he says, to keep himself attuned to the latest trends in the food business globally or what he calls “the feeding of the eyes.” Travel is also a great way for him to unwind and spend quality time with his family and friends.

Right now Dee says he is going into another type of business—real estate and mall development especially in the provinces. He has put up another company for this, the CentralMall which partnered with the Save More supermarkets of the SM Group of Companies. He explains that this move is actually related to his currrent type of business and is part of natural progression. But that story will have to be for another time, another day, he says. Suffice it to say, he’s happy to have pursued his passion for eating and make it very profitable for him. Its also one good example of “having your cake and eating it too.”

Son of owner not allowed to eat in exec lounge

By: Theresa S. Samaniego
Philippine Daily Inquirer  
9:48 pm | Saturday, September 10th, 2011 

RAUL Joseph Concepcion

At a young, tender age of 7, Raul Joseph Concepcion, unlike most other kids, spent his extra waking hours working for the family business.

Concepcion tells SundayBiz that he actually enjoyed those times when he was tasked to punch cards of different colors, stack them together, and after which he would use these to play monopoly.

But the harsh reality of working in a “real office” struck him hard when at the age of 11, Jojo, as he is fondly known, was sent to the company’s factory to finally get his hands dirty.

It was ironic that the present chief of Concepcion-Carrier Air Conditioning (CCAC), one of the country’s leading provider of cooling solutions, then had to work with two conditions under his father’s explicit orders: one, he cannot work in an air-conditioned room and second, he cannot eat in the executive floor so he can truly mingle with their factory workers.

Son of owner

“The monicker really given to people like myself is we are SOO [son of the owner]. But in my father’s case, you have to earn the title, for you to be a COO or CEO,” Concepcion explains, adding that they all had to work hard and know the company from the bottom up. This was why all his free time in the mornings were spent in the office to learn.
Coming from a family of mostly businessmen, Concepcion relates that their dad has always been very clear about them having to work for the family business.

THE MULTI-AWARDED Concepcion-Carrier Air
Conditioning Company plant.

“We were always expected to work, so that expectation level was brought up from day 1. We were expected to manage the business,” he says.

Admittedly, Concepcion says the “brainwashing” done to them by his father made it a little easier for them to accept the fact that they would soon run the business.

Food, according to him, was also one of the baits that his father used to entice them to work.

“We had an open budget, but we had to eat with the workers. We can go to the canteen and order everything we want. That was the bribe,” he relates.

When asked if he thinks that his father became too imposing for him to like the job, Concepcion notes that he didn’t see it that way as he has always wanted to work for the family’s business.

“I always dreamed of working for and leading the company. It was something really expected of me so it wasn’t very difficult for myself to adjust,” he shares.

Deemed as the family’s favorite, Concepcion admits that his parents may have spent more time nurturing him and exposing him to the business which helped him to really want to come into the family’s business.

Living abroad

Concepcion’s sheltered life, however, took a strange turn when he was sent abroad to study.

“My parents decided for us to experience the world. They wanted us to experience living alone in a less protective environment,” he says.

“The problem is in the Philippines is that you live in a very protective environment – you have your yayas, your maid, your driver so you don’t experience life,” he adds.

Concepcion relates that he had to live separately from his family for about 10 months and stay with people he didn’t know.

This setup, he claims, had helped build his confidence level and his character.

Add to that the fact that living in the US was a different experience altogether for the young Concepcion, who was then forced to learn to do things by himself –from folding his bed, doing his laundry to cleaning his area. He was likewise lumped with the other Asians since during that time, not too many Americans had seen a Filipino in their entire lives.

“This is the ’70s and the ’80s, so imagine going to that environment. It builds a lot of self-confidence in you and that experience is really what carries you through life,” Concepcion says.

He adds that his early marriage, although a challenge, has likewise helped in shaping him for who he has become today.

Honing skills

It was in 1987 that Concepcion officially joined his family’s company, Concepcion Industries Inc.

He, however, was given a different task by his father, who had then just decided to venture into agriculture, having a bought a prawn farm in Pangasinan for him to manage. From scratch, Concepcion was able to grow the business and at the same time, hone his own managing skills.

“Again, I’ve had a lot of learnings from that. Growing the farm developed my business style and philosophies. The farm taught me to work very hard. I was even then called  ‘boy putik’ because I was always muddy, but I took it as part of really learning the business, and that really brought down the philosophies and values I had in running this business,” he explains.

He then took various positions at the credit and collection, manufacturing, sales, after sales service and then finally went for the corporate, eventually landing in the position of CEO.

Challenges

According to Concepcion, there are multiple challenges in running the business, such as dealing with changes of the people and the environment.

“People tend to underestimate managing a business here in the Philippines. Demands of consumer and business are changing. The rules of the game are changing. My competition today is not locals. It’s the foreign companies, the multinationals whose companies’ total valuation is bigger than the Philippine economy,” he explains.

But one of the more daunting challenges will be from the family point of view in the generation of leadership, how is the baton passed from one generation to the next.

“When you join a company and you’re the owner, am I there because of my name or am I there because of what I can do? I think that challenge was more to myself than to the employees. Proving that you know we were worth the position that we carry. That, I tell you, is the biggest challenge faced by companies like ourselves where you have a family corporation, where you tend to tangle up family affairs and business affairs—that’s very critical,” Concepcion explains.

But Concepcion has proven his naysayers and detractors dead wrong.

As the third generation Concepcion in the airconditioning business, Jojo has diligently carried his family’s heritage, taking the joint venture between Concepcion Industries and Carrier Corp., to lead the way as the company became the country’s most trusted provider of innovative cooling solutions.

And despite the success of the company, Concepcion says he remains hands-on in the business.

“I don’t micro manage. You have to know your staff. I’m very easy to relate with. That’s the advantage – people can easily come to me, talk to me and we discuss. but I challenge them. Every time, I try to raise the bar, motivate and challenge people to do best,” Concepcion concludes.

At present, CCAC’s market leadership has been borne out of its strength in offering the market the best cooling solutions and backing this with excellent after sales services. These cooling solutions, according to CCAC, are defined by individual customer needs and are adapted to Philippine weather conditions and use.

By end-2010, CCAC registered a 32-percent growth in its total sales to P4.5 billion. With the overall AC market earning P13.8 billion last year, CCAC’s sales represented 45 percent of the overall share with 250,000 units sold during the period.

From Island Souvenirs to no frills hotels

By: Irene R. Sino Cruz
Inquirer Visayas  
12:42 am | Sunday, August 28th, 2011

JAY Aldeguer, president and CEO Islands Stay Hotels.
CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO

CEBU CITY – Nineteen years ago, Jay Aldeguer set up a T-shirt business, Islands Souvenirs, with an initial capital of P200,000, and his venture has gone a long way since then.

Today, Aldeguer has invested into another tourism-related venture, Islands Stay Hotels (ISH), a value-chic hotel chain that would tap the market for no-frills accommodation. He has poured in about P35 million.

“It’s a similar concept to low-cost airlines finding that meals on the plane are one of the more practical things to do away with, in turn, passing the savings to the customer,” says Aldeguer, chief executive officer of the Islands Group.

The hotel project is in the group’s five-year plan to boost the country’s tourism industry.
Aldeguer sees a demand for ISH as accommodations in Cebu are either the luxury and business hotels, or the lower-end inns and pension houses.

It has two branches – one just across from the Cebu Business Park on Archbishop Reyes and the second along Marina Mall near the Mactan Cebu International Airport.

The Archbishop Reyes branch has 15 rooms while the Mactan branch has 20, but Aldeguer plans to increase the number to 50 and 60, respectively. The target is actually 300 rooms in the next two years.

For Cebu alone, Aldeguer says ISH target 10 locations in the next 10 years.

Lower


Although priced lower than most hotels and resorts, the rooms in the centrally located ISH outlets offer quality beds and linens, rain showers, flat screen TV sets and free wireless broadband access.

Aldeguer may be on the right track. During their dry runs, the two hotels registered an 85 percent average occupancy rate and a walk-in rate of 50 percent, which, he says, was well beyond industry standards.

Islands Stay Hotels rooms are categorized as small, medium, large and extra large.

For its uptown Cebu branch the rates are P950 for small; P1,450 for medium; P1,950 for large and P2,150 for extra large.

For its Mactan branch, the room rates are P850 (starting September) for small, a promo rate of P950 for medium for one person and additional P500 and P300 for each succeeding extra person and P1,650 for large.

Filling the gaps

JAY ALDEGUER, president and CEO Islands Stay
Hotels (3rd from right) and his staff of Islands Stay
Hotels Cebu City. CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO

The small and medium rooms are good for one person only. Large and extra large rooms are good for two people only. Extra persons will be charged P300 upon check-in.

Islands Souvenir now has 90 outlets, including stand-alone stores, department stores and those run by distributors, spread all over the Philippines.

While it has become a success, Aldeguer has found himself deeper in the tourism industry, noting gaps, especially in tourism services, that should be addressed. He considers the gaps as business opportunities and must be filled so the Philippines can become a premier destination in the Asia-Pacific region.

Islands & More

In 2006, Aldeguer established Islands & More, a retail business catering to tourists and with shops located in hotels and airport terminals. The concept revolves around a one-stop, travel essentials store offering products minus the high mark-ups common in hotels and resorts.

Islands & More now has 12 stores and three franchise areas – Baguio City, City of Vigan in Ilocos Sur, and Camarines Sur.

Islands Banca Cruises


Two years later, he invested in Islands Banca Cruises (IBC), which addresses the question of what else to do in Cebu aside from going to the beach or on historical tours. His initial capital was at P3 million, while his total investment has reached P5 million.

Just like Islands Souvenirs, IBC helped set the standards for boats offering island hopping tours. Other boats had been confronted with safety issues as these were not being regulated by the government.

During peak season, IBC and its fleet of 12 bancas could not accommodate all their clients, so the company decided to enter into arrangements with other boat owners.

“We fix their boats, have our own crew man these. During the peak season, we outsource eight to 10 boats,” Aldeguer says. The boat owners get a share of the revenues.

IBC has become successful that other businesses offering similar services have emerged. Aldeguer now wants IBC to be replicated in other areas, such as Boracay and Bohol. “We are looking for strategic partners,” he says.

Market needs

Just recently, IBC signed a franchise agreement in Davao with Sea-T Leisure Group of Kirby Te, Aldeguer reveals.

Apart from island-hopping, the company will be offering another product – a romantic cruise at the Cebu-Mactan channel.

The unstoppable Aldeguer has yet set his sights on another tourism-related business, Talima Adventure and Waterpark, on Olango Island in Lapu-Lapu City.

“I wanted to develop a new destination in Cebu,” he says. He places his investment in Talima at P8 million to P10 million.

The place features a giant inflatable slide, water trampolines and water rollers. A greater part of the P100 entrance fee per visitor is donated to the Talima Marine Sanctuary.

Talima had projected a turnout of 150 people on a weekend, but on the next, it drew 500. Bad weather, though, had forced the cancellation of trips to Olango.

For those interested in going into a tourism-related business, Aldeguer shares this advice: “Now is the good time to go into business because we are at the crossroads, where there are so many new demands and needs in travel. Whoever recognizes that will be in good company.”

Metrobank faces BSP sanction

By: Michelle V. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
4:26 am | Friday, August 26th, 2011

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is set to decide on sanctions to be imposed on Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. after one of its branches allegedly engaged in unsafe and unsound practice that led to over P60 million in losses for one of its corporate clients.

The Office of Special Investigations (OSI) of the BSP said that Metrobank failed to exercise diligence in its dealings with oil importer Zhenron Corp. which filed an administrative complaint earlier this year against the bank.

In its ruling, penned by legal officer Cristina Colico, the central bank’s OSI said Metrobank violated rules on safe and sound banking practices. It turned over the case to the central bank’s Supervised Banks Complaints and Evaluation Group, which shall decide on the penalties to be imposed.

OSI said that concerned officials of Metrobank “violated their duty to exercise meticulous care and extraordinary diligence” on the bank’s dealings with Zhenron.

In another development, four officials of Metrobank were charged with estafa for taking a total of P10.3 million from Brent International School Manila as fees for an alleged $17.1 million loan to the latter that never materialized.

In a sworn complaint filed with the city prosecutor of Biñan, Laguna, Brent’s finance director Edna Ballesteros named Metrobank president Antonio Abacan; senior vice president Eligio Labog, Jr.; senior vice manager Godofredo Cruz and account officer Arlene Ordoñez.

The P10.3 million was allegedly for the upfront fee, documentary stamp tax and other fees for the loan. The bank, however, did not release the loan, prompting Brent to seek the return of the P10.3 million from Metrobank.

Reacting to the complaint, Metro-bank said the criminal complaint had no factual and legal basis.

“In the bank’s over 48 years of operation, Metrobank has been consistently committed in providing service with integrity, placing the highest premium on transparency with the best interest of its stakeholders in mind,” the bank said.

In the earlier complaint, Zhenron, which is owned by couple Maureen and Seiichi Hori, said Metrobank took more than P60 million from the company, consisting of about P31 million from its peso deposit account and about P31 million worth of insurance policies by falsely claiming that Zhenron had unpaid interest obligations.

In 2009, Zhenron secured five trust receipts, which are forms of loans for importers, worth about P700 million.

Zhenron claimed that before the loans matured, it had instructed Metrobank to take over its dollar time deposits with the bank worth P700 million as payment.

But the complainant said Metrobank made it appear that Zhenron asked for extensions of the maturities of the loans. Loan extensions are charged interests. Thus, by 2010, the interest on the loan had ballooned.

Metrobank was contacted for comment, but has not yet given its side as of press time.

Phone giant hikes stake in BPO firm

Philippine Daily Inquirer
9:32 pm | Friday, August 26th, 2011 

The technology unit of network giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has upped its stake in a business process outsourcing (BPO) firm that specializes in high value back office services.

In a disclosure, PLDT said wholly-owned unit ePLDT Inc. had agreed to buy out its partner Quantium Solutions International Pte. Ltd. (QSI) in ePDS Inc.

The PLDT subsidiary currently owns 50 percent of ePDS Inc., while QSI and DataPost Pte. Ltd. own 20 percent and 30 percent, respectively.

The BPO specializes in data formatting and printing, automated intelligent mail processing, manual letter-shopping, data archiving and document management solutions.

Under the deed of sale signed on Wednesday, ePLDT will acquire about 17 of QSI’s stake in ePDS.  QSI would sell its remaining 3 percent stake in the BPO firm to DataPost.

“The completion of the purchase transactions is expected to take place in the third quarter of 2011,” PLDT corporate secretary Lourdes Rausa-Chan said in a disclosure.

“Upon completion, QSI will cease to be a shareholder of (ePDS Inc.),” said ePLDT, which in turn will end up with a 67-percent stake in the BPO firm. DataPost will hold the balance of 33 percent.

Officially set up in June 2003, ePDS unified the expertise of these three companies in IT, printing and mail enveloping outsourcing services and mail distribution to gain a superior position in providing total customer communication solutions.

ePLDT, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), is the principal corporate vehicle of the PLDT Group’s information and communications technology (ICT) assets and investments, focused on enabling ICT infrastructure services which would drive Internet applications, IP-based services and multimedia content delivery to consumers and business worldwide.

In the meantime, DataPost Pte. Ltd. is a subsidiary of Singapore’s SingPost, the largest postal service provider in Asia.   Paolo G. Montecillo

Puregold sets IPO schedule; listing to be on Oct. 5

Philippine Daily Inquirer  
9:29 pm | Friday, August 26th, 2011

Supermarket chain Puregold Price Club Inc. will price and launch on Sept. 21 an initial public offering that it hopes could raise up to P12.4 billion for its expansion.

The Philippine Stock Exchange approved the offering, only the second Philippine IPO this year, involving the sale of as much as 600 million common shares at up to P18 per share.

The company has set aside 90 million shares for a greenshoe option.

The shares to be offered represent 34.5 percent of Puregold’s issued and outstanding capital stock after the IPO.

The offer will close on Sept. 29, with listing set for Oct. 5.

The IPO, which follows the $52-million share sale by Megawide Construction Corp. in February, was originally set for March but was delayed due to volatile market conditions.

HSBC and UBS AG are international lead managers, while BDO Capital & Investment Corp. and First Metro Investment Corp. are the domestic lead managers for the share sale.

The company is bullish about the prospects of its IPO and believes that the “false” allegation that it is engaged in smuggling will not harm the interest of its potential investors.

Asked in a briefing on Friday for reaction on concerns that the controversy might affect the offering, Puregold president Leonardo Dayao said, “I don’t think so.”

“We are offering (the shares) based on merit,” he said, citing the  favorable growth prospects of the company.

Earlier, Puregold denied allegations that it had engaged in smuggling, saying it had been observing legal and aboveboard procedures in all its transactions over the years.

Dayao said Puregold, which currently has 72 stores operating nationwide, was aiming at increasing its branch network to 100 stores after the IPO.

It intends to put up 25 more stores next year and another 25 in 2013.

Dayao said proceeds from the IPO would be used for the expansion of the branch network this year.

Dayao said Puregold was also optimistic about its expansion plans, saying there was much room in the economy to accommodate more supermarkets given the rising demand of a growing population.

He also said many areas in the country still lacked supermarkets and were relying mainly on sari-sari stores to meet the demands of their population.

Puregold is planning to expand to Davao, Rizal, Cavite, Bataan, Pangasinan, Baguio, Ilocos Norte, Cebu City, Tarlac City, La Union and Albay.

In a congressional hearing on smuggling earlier, Puregold was accused of engaging in the illegal activity. A legislator accused finance and customs officials of giving protection to Puregold.

Dayao said the company strongly denied the allegations, and that these should not harm the company’s IPO plans and growth prospects given that the claims were not substantiated. Michelle V. Remo